A Neverlasting Love
by Acaciahoney
Summary: When Edward meets Bella, there is a reason he is so conflicted about their relationship - he's met her before. In 1917, Edward met Isabella Rose, their love was so strong that not even death could destroy it. Can Bella avoid the fate of her previous reincarnates?
1. Chapter 1

I flinch at the sound of the soft voice. When I look up I see a girl, brunette, brown eyes, pale – almost as pale as me. She's pretty, beautiful even, but she's not her. She looks my way and heads towards my desk.

A breeze lifts her hair from her shoulders and her scent hits me. It's overwhelming, it invades my senses and I grip the desk to stop myself from hurtling towards her. She smells just like her, that same sweet scent. Could it be her? Another reincarnate? I had given up hope, it's been fifty years since the last one. I have to stay away from her, they all end up dead. I can't face that again.

She sits down beside me and I cringe away from her, my throat burns and my still heart aches, somewhere between wanting to hold her and wanting to drain her blood.

She looks shocked and hurt by my reaction and then she stares resolutely ahead. There's something else, something noticeably absent. Her thoughts. The others were the same, I couldn't read them, I couldn't hear what they were thinking. It's definitely her, Isabella Rose, reincarnated.

I remember the first time I met her. The year was 1917, the year before I became a vampire. It was summer, my Father was away on business and my Mother was visiting with friends. Everyone had flocked to the river to escape the heat of the city. A group of friends invited me along and I went, hoping to find some inspiration for a song I was composing. I settled myself on the banks of the river while my friends went for a swim. I pulled out my sheet music and tried to come up with some words to go with my music.

I dreamt of becoming a soldier, but at just sixteen years old, I was too young to be enlisted. My Mother hated the thought of me going and the subject was banned at home, so I focused instead on becoming a successful pianist and songwriter.

While I sat, waiting for inspiration, my sheet of music was suddenly splattered with river water as footsteps hurried past.I looked up expecting to see one of the boys hurtling by, but it was a girl. Her feet were bare and she held her wet dress around her knees as she ran. I put down my work to watch her. She laughed as the dog at her heels chased her, his tail wagging. She threw a stick into the river and the dog waded in to retrieve it.

The ladies sitting in the shade of the trees underneath their parasols shook their heads disapprovingly and whispered, but she paid no attention.

She petted the dog as it dropped the stick at her feet and it wagged its tail, waiting for her to throw the stick again.

She looked about my age, blonde curls tumbling down her back like she just shook them loose from a tight, restrictive hairstyle. Her frame was small but there was a hint of womanly curves beneath her clothing.

"C'mon," She said to the dog, "Lets sit down."

She looked around and then her eyes found mine. I hurriedly looked away, pretending instead to watch the people swimming in the river. When I looked back I realised she was heading towards me. She sat down on the grassy bank about a metre away from me, stretched out her legs and lifted her face up to the sun. She closed her eyes and leaned back on her hands. The dog suddenly shook, sending droplets of water over us both. The girl shrieked and laughed.

"I'm so sorry," She said, "Misty has no manners."

Her voice was like music, soft and tinkling. Her face set into a beautiful smile as she scratched the wolf-like dog around the ears.

"It's fine," I said,"He's an interesting-looking dog."

"Yeh, we've had him since he was a pup. Father says he's half wolf, but I'm not sure."

She squinted at me in the sun light and I noticed the light sprinkling of freckles dappled across her nose.

"I'm Edward Masen."

"Isabella Rose."

"I don't think I've seen you around here before."

"No we just moved here, my Dad's in the army so we move round a lot."

"Your Father's a Soldier?"

Isabella nodded.

"A Captain. He's stationed nearby and my Mother couldn't bear to be so far away from him, so we moved to be closer. We're living in the big house, just up the river."

"Evergreen?"

"Yeh, that's the one."

"It's a lovely house."

"I guess, I kind of liked my old house."

"Where did you live before?"

"St Louis."

I watched her as she spoke, she barely looked at me, but when she did I noticed the intensity of her eyes. They were a dark, vivid blue, like a deep ocean and I wondered what thoughts lurked behind them.

She nodded towards the papers at my side.

"You write music?"

"I'm trying," I said with a smile, "I play the piano, I'd like to compose someday. Do you like music?"

She smiled.

"I love music, I play a little piano myself, but I'm not good. I prefer to listen to others play. Maybe I'll hear you play someday."

I smiled at her and she held my gaze for a few moments, then Isabella stood and dusted the sand from her skirt.

"I must be going, it was nice to meet you Mr Masen."

"You too, Miss Rose."

She started to walk away, the dog at her heels.

"Miss Rose!"

She turned to look at me and my stomach fluttered with nerves. I scrambled to my feet.

"May I call on you some time?"

She smiled again, a line of perfect, white teeth."

"I would like that."

The school bell signals the end of the lesson and I hurry from the classroom, pushing the memory from the back of my mind. I have to hunt and I have to get out of this Biology class.

I plead with the secretary to let me switch, but she tells me everywhere is full. I smell her again, that tantalising scent. I turn to find the girl standing in the doorway. She looks hurt. She must have overheard the whole thing. A feeling of guilt claws at my insides. It's not her fault, she doesn't know who she is, who she was before. The hunger inside me rears up and I storm from the building.

Outside I race towards the forest, I can't bear to go home, to have Jasper sensing my mood and Alice predicting the future of this girl. Bella. I read her name in the minds of the other students. It's always the same, some variation, Isabella, Mabel, Annabelle, Bella.

I head deeper into the forest and I climb a huge, ancient oak. I sit amongst the branches and consider my options. I could move away, but it would mean leaving my family behind. I could live with the Denali's, I would still be close enough to visit, but there's Tanya to think of. After spurning her advances I don't want to confuse her.

I climb higher to peer over the tops of the trees. The sun peeks through the clouds and falls on my face. I close my eyes and I remember my first date with Isabella.

We were chaperoned of course. Isabella's brother, John, on leave from the army, accompanied us for lunch and regaled us with tales of war. He hadn't seen much of the fighting yet, he was responsible for training new candidates. Isabella was so proud of him, I could see it in the way she looked at him.

After lunch we walked along the river. John ran into a few old friends of his and stopped to chat. Isabella and I were left alone. Her golden skin glinted in the afternoon sun, her eyes a sea of blue. I longed to kiss her, to feel her soft, pink lips on mine, but things were different back then. I would never have dishonoured her like that. Instead, as we walked under the soft, looming branches of a willow tree, shielded from view, I lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles delicately. She flushed and looked almost shy for a moment. I held her hand for a short while until we heard approaching footsteps.

As I head home I try to let go of the memory, pushing it to the back of my mind and suppressing the pain I feel when I think of her. She was so alive, she sparkled more than the flesh of a thousand shimmering vampires, a diamond in the rough.

Rosalie waits for me at the door, her arms folded.

"Alice had a vision, she saw you with the new girl, Bella."

"Alice's visions are subjective."

Rosalie shakes her head.

"Not this one. It was her, Isabella, reincarnated – again!"

"Rosalie, there's nothing I can do…"

"Yes there is! You have to stay away from her. We all know how this will end, just like the last one, and the one before…she'll die and we'll all be implicated."

"Just leave it Rosalie."

I race up to my room, her words ringing in my ears. Just like the last one, and the one before….She'll die.


	2. Chapter 2

I spend the next few days away from school. I hunt, I visit the Denali's, and I do everything I can to keep my mind off Bella, but my thoughts wander back to her each time, to every version of her, her many faces racing through my mind.

By the time I return to school I've made my decision. I'll get to know Bella, I'll be her friend and nothing more. Maybe that will break the curse, maybe I got too close before, too involved.

When she appears in the doorway of our Biology classroom, she looks conflicted and it doesn't take a mind reader to realise that she's considering asking someone to switch seats. Her brown eyes dart around the room, like a deer in the woods, looking for a way to escape its predator. Eventually she makes her way over to our desk and dumps her bag at her feet. I introduce myself and I offer some small talk. She engages, almost reluctantly and tells me her story of how she ended up in Forks. It's always the same tale. Her Father is always in a position of authority, the place where I meet her is never her place of birth and there is always one feature, or one quality which remains the same. I watch her as she talks, trying not to be overwhelmed by that glorious scent. She is most like Mabel, poor sweet Mabel. Both with long, lustrous, dark hair, as soft as silk. Mabel met me at a bad time. I had just returned to my family, after leaving them for a while on a path of self-destruction. Even with my new found strength and power I was a half man, stricken with grief and guilt, dragging myself through an eternal life without Isabella. My family lived on the blood of animals but I longed for the taste of human blood, hoping it would extinguish the flames which burned within me. I only drank from those who would hurt others. I read their minds, sensed their thoughts and I drained them before they could carry out their hateful acts. It didn't help and in the end I realised that Isabella would not want me to live my life like this, so I returned home, but some of my old habits were hard to shake. My parents gave me a sister, Rosalie. I think they thought she would help heal me, she would be someone I could love, but we were never anything more than siblings. Rosalie was grieving too, for the life she had lost.

As Bella talks, I notice that there's something different about her story. Her parents aren't together. She had a choice of who to live with, a 50/50 chance of moving here, of meeting me. What does it mean? That it wasn't just fate that brought her here?

Later in the parking lot I watch Bella as she makes her way to her car. I search for a part of Isabella, for something more than just her scent. I realise then that it's in the way she dresses. Isabella had that same, carefree sense of style.

I hear the thoughts of the driver before the screech of tyres. The truck veers off the road towards Bella and without thinking I speed to her side, planting myself between her and the oncoming vehicle. I register the look of shock on her face as my hand sinks into the metal of the truck which grinds to a halt before us.

It's the same look Mabel had when she realised what I was, what I could do.

The first time I saw Mabel it was through the thoughts of someone else, a predator stalking her in the night. His thoughts were so loud, it was like he was screaming, but I couldn't hear anything in her mind. Her thoughts were shielded for me, the only hint of what she was thinking was in the nervous looks she passed over her shoulder as the man behind her advanced.

He had followed her for about five blocks when they passed me on the poorly lit street. Her high heels clicked against the pavement as she picked up the pace. I stayed back in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Near the park, I saw him reach a hand out towards her and I swooped in, slamming him against the railings. I tore into his throat as the rage and the feeling of loss surged though me, his blood spilling over my lips. I heard a small whimper and I turned to find her sitting on the ground, a look of horror on her face and a small trickle of blood on her leg where her knee had made contact with the pavement. She must have been knocked to the floor during the scuffle, her hair falling loose from the elegant knot it was twisted in earlier. A gentle wind lifted the thick strands of hair which framed her face and her scent hit me. That familiar scent of roses, of sunshine on her skin, summer nights and evergreen. I let go of my victim. He fell to the ground and lay there unmoving. I stepped over him towards the girl. She cringed away from me as I crouched down in front of her, studying her intently. Could it be her?

"W-what are you?" She asked.

"A monster."

She looked taken back by my admission and she cocked her head to one side, studying me with a kind of morbid curiousity..

"I don't believe that. You saved me…I think."

She looked over my shoulder at the man lying on the ground.

"He was going to hurt me?"

I nodded solemnly. I searched her eyes, they were a vivid green like mine before I was turned. I longed to hear her thoughts, but as much as I concentrated, there was only silence. I was curious to find out more about her, to find out why, in her presence, it was like Isabella was still with me.

"May I walk you home?"

She looked wary at first, then she nodded and scrambled to her feet. I held the crook of her arm to help her up, the thick wool of her coat protecting her skin from my ice cold touch.

She told me her story on the way to her house. Her father was a pilot in the Air Force. He'd been captured during the war and spent some time in a POW camp where he orchestrated the escape of the American and British soldiers being held there. He was something of a hero. Mabel hoped to be a writer and she had already helped to write her Fathers memoirs. She wanted to make a living for herself, she was fiercely independent almost to the point of stubbornness and I realised that her wary look when I offered to walk her home was probably because she didn't want people to think that she couldn't take care of herself. She didn't ask anymore questions about my condition, instead she asked about my family, my likes, my dislikes. It was like deep down she already knew I was a vampire and there was nothing left to say on the matter.

We stopped before her porch, her house was set against the backdrop of a huge forest.

"It inspires me," she said, gesturing towards the trees, "I'm writing a story about a pack of werewolves who dwell in the forest and terrorise the inhabitants of a small town."

She laughed, a tinkling sound with the same musical quality of Isabella's.

"It sounds great. I hope I get to read it."

She held out her hand towards me.

"I'm Mabel, by the way, Mabel Waters."

Without thinking I took her hand in mine.

"Edward Cullen."

She gasped at my stone cold touch, I waited for her to say something, to turn on her heel and run into the house, locking the door behind her, but she smiled.

I was naïve then, I didn't realise that history would repeat itself. I thought that meeting Mabel was my second chance at love. I didn't know that saving her would set us both on a path to tragedy, one that would keep repeating itself until I accepted that I was destined to an eternal life alone.

Bella is taken to the hospital, it's just a precaution. I see her a couple of days later at school. She thinks I regret saving her. I can't bear to see the look in her eye, but what would I tell her? That she is my dead lover reincarnated? That every reincarnate before her died? I get one chance to save them, but the next time they die. Instead, I tell her that we can't be friends. She looks at me like a wounded animal and my heart aches.


	3. Chapter 3

I am tormented. Torn between a desire to make Bella mine and to save her from certain death. Either way I no longer have the strength to stay away from her. Earlier, I heard her name in the mind of one of her friends. They planned a trip to Port Angeles to shop for prom dresses. I imagined them walking along the dark streets, unaware of the dangers which lurk around every corner, of the dark thoughts in the minds of those who dwell there. I have to make sure she's OK, so I follow. As I drive I think of Mabel. Even after I saved her that night, she refused to be accompanied after dark, too proud, too stubborn to preserve her life. He came for her. The man I saved her from that first night, he came back for her, only this time he was ten times as powerful, ten times as dangerous. It never occurred to me that night that I drained him and tossed him aside that I had made him vampire. I was too eager to get to Mabel, too curious to find out why she reminded me so much of Isabella. I should have watched the light leave his eyes, waited until I felt his heart still. I got what I wanted in the end, but not before he took Mabel from me.

As I round the corner of the nearest street, I see her. She heads into the old bookshop on the corner. I keep my face in the shadows. I don't want her to see me. She won't understand why I followed her, why I'm so afraid for her. When she appears back on the street, the moonlight makes her hair shine like silver and it illuminates her pale face. I wait for her to disappear into the next street before I start the engine. I know she's meeting her friends at a nearby restaurant, I heard it in their thoughts. I know the place and I'm just about to go there when I hear him, his thoughts pouring from his mind. Then I realise there's more than one. A group of men all thinking the same dark thoughts, all picturing the same dark haired girl with the pale face. I grit my teeth and I slam my foot on to the accelerator. I speed along the narrow streets until I find them. One of them has his hands on her, he'll be the first to die. She looks stunned when I spring from the car. I tell her to get in and she scrambles into the passenger seat without hesitation. I advance on the group. They try to look intimidating at first, puffing out their chests. They obviously believe they have the advantage because I'm alone. How wrong they are. I snarl under my breath and they take a step back. I want to tear them all limb from limb, but I think of Mabel's attacker. Can I trust that they would all die? That they won't come back? I turn on my heel and get back in the car, willing myself to drive away.

"Distract me so I don't turn around."

Bella looks shocked by my distress, she tells me to put my seatbelt on. I laugh at this and it's almost manic. I need to calm down. I ease my foot off the accelerator. She's safe, for now. I hear the growl of her stomach and I remember that she was on her way to dinner. I had planned on taking her home to her Father. She might want to report the incident, but that might raise questions about why I happened to be nearby. I look at her. Her face is composed and she shows no signs of wanting to go home, so I take the next left to the restaurant.

Her friends are already leaving as we reach the front door. I offer to make sure Bella has dinner and then drive her home after. They look uncertain and I hear their thoughts – worry, curiosity, envy. I smile and they seem to relax a little as they say their goodbyes.

Inside, I try to drown out the thoughts of everyone around us, but in the crowded restaurant, their minds are deafening. The waitress finds us a table in the corner. As Bella sits down, I scan her face for any sign of trepidation. She's a little anxious, uncertain, but she isn't afraid of me. As we talk I let slip about my mind reading ability. She doesn't seem surprised. Just like Mabel, she's curious, it doesn't matter to her that I'm different. Deep down she knows what I am because she has known me before. I want this evening to last forever so we can stay in this moment, this calm before the storm. When I take her home later that night, my heart is heavy.

It doesn't take long for the penny to drop. The next day at school, Bella walks straight past me out of the school grounds. She barely looks at me, but the flash of her eyes tells me I should follow. I wonder what her reaction will be. Last night on the way home from Port Angeles, our hands brushed and she had gasped when she felt the chill of my skin. Just like Mabel, she said nothing.

Bella heads towards the forest and she stops in the shade of the trees.

"You're impossibly fast and strong. You skin is pale white and ice cold…"

I listen as she lists my unusual traits. As she lists all of the things that make me different from her. All of the reasons why we can't be together. I wonder what Isabella would have made of me if she met me after I was turned. Would we have still fallen in love? I wouldn't have met her on the river that day, that's for sure. Not with the sun illuminating my shimmering skin, the skin of a killer. Because that's what I am. I have inadvertently caused the death of every reincarnation of Isabella and Bella will be no different. My still heart feels like it's breaking all over again. I watched as Isabella died, powerless to save her and now she haunts me. Her soul drifting from body to body, each suffering a similar fate.

"I know what you are."

I look at Bella as the word hovers on her lips. Maybe Bella will make the decision for me, maybe she will be strong enough to stay away from me now that she knows what I am. Mabel never said the word. She realised what I was much quicker than Bella and yet we never talked about it, at least not like this.

"Say it. Out loud."

She hesitates for a moment, like she's contemplating whether or not to say it, because once it's out there, she can't take it back. Everything will change.

"Vampire."

"Are you afraid?"

"No."

I believe her. Even though I can't hear her thoughts, she has that same stubborn look as Mabel and Isabella. Defiant in the face of danger. I have to warn her off. The wind fans her hair around her face and her scent catches in my throat. It's intoxicating. I can't think clearly, I want to hold her, taste her blood and run from her all at once. I feel out of control, she has to stay away from me. She has to know the danger she is in, but she has to make the decision herself. I don't trust myself to do the right thing.

"Ask yourself the most basic question. What do we eat."

It's a bluff. I would never hurt her like that, but I want her to be afraid of me so that she leaves me, so that she escapes the inevitable. I take her arm and lead her up into the mountain. The clouds part and I feel the warmth of the sun as it casts its rays across my face. Bella's mouth falls open in surprise.

"It's like diamonds."

"It's the skin of a killer, Bella."

She is still not afraid and I wonder if I'm purposely showing her the more romantic notion of being a vampire. I could have shown her how I hunt and slaughter the animals in the forest, but instead I am showing her the shimmer of my vampiric skin. I remember the first time Mabel saw me in the sunlight. She described my skin as being like the sparkle of the sun on the river. The river made me think of Isabella. When we stole some time alone together, we would sit on the river bank and watch the sun set. I loved to watch the sunlight illuminate her face. She would take my hand in hers and whisper that she loved me. Now she's standing before me once again, reincarnated and I imagine her whispering those words to me again. Something inside of me breaks. I have nothing left, no way to stop her from getting too close. I want her. She leans back against the rocky wall of the mountain and I lean towards her.

"So the lion fell in love with the lamb."

"What a stupid lamb."

"What a sick masochistic lion."


	4. Chapter 4

The next few days are a blur. I spend every moment I can with Bella, my Isabella. Now that I have her with me again I won't let her go. Alice told me that she had a vision of Bella. She saw her as a vampire, strong, even more beautiful, her pale skin sparkling in the light of the sun. While I was less than pleased about the prospect of her becoming a vampire, I was relieved that Alice hadn't seen her meet a gruesome end.

Alice was the first person to realise that Isabella was being reincarnated. Alice wasn't with our family when I met Mabel, but she was around when I found Annabelle. Alice saw a vision of her too, she saw the two of us meeting and she knew who she was, she knew that she was Isabella reincarnated once again. It explained the connection between Mabel and Isabella, but it also raised a question. Why do I always lose her? Was I being punished for failing to save Isabella? I won't fail this time. I'll protect her until her life comes to a natural end and then I'll wait for her once again.

I decide to take Bella to my home. She's met Carlisle on a couple of occasions but I want the others to meet her too. Alice will be pleased, she was good friends with Annabelle. Bella is worried about meeting my family, worried that they won't like her, but they greet her warmly. All except Jasper who struggles to hide his discomfort at being so close to a human, and Rosalie, who can't hide the look of contempt upon her face. I can't blame her. Things with Annabelle got….messy. When I met her she was already involved with another vampire. It came as a surprise. She was so unlike her former selves. Her vampire boyfriend was chaotic, unpredictable and he hurt her. I saved her from him, but he wouldn't let her go. In the end we fought with him and his coven, the Volturi threatened to get involved and Emmett was almost killed.

I take Bella to my room before Rosalie tells her everything about who she is and who she was before. I heard the threat in her mind. Bella looks around and comments on the absence of a bed. I tell her that I don't need to sleep and she barely reacts. It's old news to her. She skims her fingers along the shelves which line the wall, tracing over the titles of books and music. She presses a button on my CD player and as the music kicks in I pull her towards me. As we dance I'm reminded of the first time I danced with Isabella. She was so graceful, but she favoured a more upbeat melody. I took her to a ball, an annual charity even hosted by some friends of my Mother. As we danced, Isabella twirled faster and faster until we were racing around the dance floor, out of sync with the other guests. Her laughter caught the attention of another suitor that night, the man who would eventually kill her.

Bella twists away from me awkwardly.

"I can't dance." She says quietly.

"I could always make you."

She smiles almost challengingly and something inside of me spikes. I throw her onto my back and I race from the room, out of the window towards the trees. Bella shrieks with delight as I scale the tall conifers which surround the house. We explore the ragged mountain tops and shelter under a shelf of rock when it rains. As it starts to get dark we head back to the house and I play a song for her on the piano. It's a piece I originally composed when she was Isabella, it's the piece I had started to write the day I met her by the river. Each note was the sound of her footsteps which padded along the sandy bank, the sound of her heart beat, the tinkle of her laughter and the bell-like ring of her voice. The melody is a song of hope, shot through with sadness. The tragic deaths of Isabella, Mabel and Annabelle.

I met Annabelle at school, it was the first time I had returned to formal education since I became a vampire. I had read every book in Carlisle's study, mastered a number of foreign languages, but times had changed. Despite my age, I still looked like a teenager and teenagers were supposed to be in school. I met her on my first day. When all of the students were heading to lessons she was heading outside. As she pushed open the front doors, the breeze drifted up the corridor carrying her scent towards me and I knew it was her. I followed her into the parking lot and watched as she slid into the passenger seat of a sleek, red car which sped away with a squeal of tyres. When she came back at the end of the school day, I was waiting for her. The final bell was just about to ring and I had waited outside for the last hour, unable to concentrate as I anticipated her return.

"You were gone."

She looked surprised.

"So I ditched…what's it to you?"

I had shrugged my shoulders, unsure of what to say next as she searched my face.

"You're new right?" She asked.

I smiled then.

"Yeh. I'm Edward Cullen."

"Annabelle Woods."

"You're friend couldn't take you home?"

I nodded in the direction of the road where the red car had disappeared moments ago. Annabelle followed my gaze and frowned. She shifted a little.

"No, my Father caught me ditching before and sometimes he calls by to pick me up."

She scanned the grounds, flicking her auburn hair, shot through with streaks of gold, over her shoulder.

"I guess he's not here."

She smiled at me.

"I'll see you around." She said.

She hitched her bag further on to her shoulder and took off towards the road. I called after her.

"May I give you a ride home?"

She turned to face me.

"My Father wouldn't approve."

"I could drop you nearby?"

She looked towards the road and then up to the grey sky threatening rain.

"Um, OK great."

On the way home she told me that her Father was a judge in the city, he was fiercely protective of her. She was an only child and her Mother had died when Annabelle was a little girl. While she talked I listened intently for the sound of her thoughts but there was nothing. She had Isabella's eyes and the same freckles sprinkled across her nose. Her scent filled the car, roses and sunshine, I longed to reach across her, to stroke the delicate skin of her forearm, to trace the bluish line of her vein, but instead I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. I asked her about school. She told me that she ditched out of sheer boredom. She did enough studying to keep her grades solid, but she dreamt of becoming an actress and as soon as she turned eighteen she was going to move to Hollywood.

When she got out of the car at the end of her street, I longed to grab her hand, to pull her towards me, but instead I let her close the door and walk away. Later that night, Alice had another vision, Annabelle's death.

After I've dropped Bella off at home, I wait for all of the lights to go out and then I scale the wall to her bedroom window. I crawl inside and sneak across the floor to the foot of her bed. She is startled at first, but then she looks expectant. I lean across the bed towards her and I kiss her, gently at first and then passionately. I feel a surge of longing. As my mouth presses against hers, I am overcome with love, hope, regret and loss. I have waited so long to find her again and now she's here in my arms. I feel her hands on my back and I feel the tremor of the pulse in her neck. I jump back. I don't want it to happen like this, I respect her too much and I don't know if I could control myself if I let things go any further. It's a fine line between desire and the thirst for blood. I stay with her that night, watching her sleep. The rise and fall of her chest is peaceful. She shifts closer and rests her head on me, undisturbed by my cold skin and I imagine our life together. Alice says I should change her, she says it will happen anyway, but Alice's visions are subjective. Alice doesn't understand that reincarnation itself is a kind of immortality and to change Bella would mean taking away that amazing gift. I want to leave her soul intact so that when she leaves this world as Bella she will be free to come back again and again to live who knows how many amazing lives. All of them with me.


	5. Chapter 5

The sky is a dark and murky grey, the gathering clouds threatening rain. Alice said there would be a storm. Perfect. I smile across at Bella as we drive to the playing field. She returns the smile with a kind of curiosity and something else. Apprehension? It's so frustrating not being able to hear her thoughts. Bella hates the rain. And sports. But I want her to see a vampire baseball game, to show her that we still have a human side, an ability to enjoy a great American pastime.

As we step out of the car, I hear the first rumble of thunder. It reverberates around the open field, a warning of the oncoming storm.

"It's time." Alice says.

Emmet and Jasper take their positions around the field. Rosalie steps up to bat first, Carlisle and Jasper behind her. I leave Bella with Esme, I tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear and lightly touch her face.

Alice bowls the ball to Rosalie who strikes it through the air with a crack as loud as the thunder that rumbles overhead. The storm gets wilder as the game continues, the wind whipping the tops of the trees.

I hear the thoughts of our uninvited guests before they approach. I can smell their vampiric scent mixed with the smell of earth and blood. I rush to Bella's side. I pull her hair loose from the band she wears so that it falls around her shoulders. It'll barely mask her scent, but I have to do something.

As the vampires appear in the clearing, I recognise one of them. He wears a jacket but his chest is bare, just like he wore it when I knew him before. I met him almost fifty years ago, he was part of the group Annabelle got tangled up in, the brother of the vampire she was dating when we met. He was a young vampire back then, but his thirst for human blood was unlike any vampire I had met before.

When Annabelle first told me that she had a vampire boyfriend, she could barely look me in the eye. She knew what I was of course, but she knew that I was different, that my family was different. Annabelle never told me how she got mixed up with a vampire in the first place, but she said that once he saw her, he wouldn't let her go. His name was Sebastian. He was the ringleader of the group. He had an unusual ability, the ability to be human. His body could change colour so that it resembled the hue of human skin, he could breathe and his heart would thump in his chest. He could stop the sparkle of his skin in the sun light, making it easier for him to blend in. It was all just a glamour of course, a trick to lure unsuspecting humans. By the time Annabelle realised what he was, it was too late. She was his and he told her that if she ever tried to leave him, he would send his brother to find her.

He wanted to turn her, but he was waiting until she was eighteen so it wouldn't draw as much attention when she made her excuses and disappeared. It took me a while to convince her to break up with him. We were just friends then, but I offered her my protection, I told her she would be safe with me and my family. Annabelle was horrified at the thought of our coven getting involved, at the possibility of us getting hurt, but eventually, after much persuasion, she agreed.

She asked him to meet her outside of school, hoping he wouldn't cause a scene with so many people around. I watched from a distance, ready to defend her if he attacked. He took the news without a word, walking away from her like he didn't care, but I heard his thoughts, he wouldn't let her go that easily. It would only be a matter of time before he came for her.

The next day at school, Annabelle was elated, like a weight had been lifted. I revelled in her joy, but I couldn't help wondering when we would hear from Sebastian again.

I didn't have to wait long. As we left school that day, I heard the screech of tyres and I saw a flash of red as the car mounted the pavement. I pushed Annabelle out of the way and jumped on to the bonnet. As I drove my fist through the windscreen and grabbed Sebastian's neck, I thought about how strange it was that he would try to hurt Annabelle the way a human would. I assumed that when he came for her, he would bite her, try to drain her or turn her.

I pulled him from his seat and through the windscreen as the car crashed into a nearby tree. We were both thrown from the vehicle but I landed lightly on my feet, still holding Sebastian. He was still alive but there was a deep crack around his pale neck and his eyes were half closed. I let go of him and he crumpled into a heap on the ground.

I rushed to the car now wrapped around the tree, a few people stood around staring, looking perplexed. The whole thing probably happened too quickly for them to see. I scanned the ground looking for Annabelle. I found her lying a few metres away from the car. She groaned as I turned her over, a deep welt on her head and a ribbon of scarlet snaking down her face. I clamped a hand over my mouth and nose, trying not to breathe in the scent of her blood. I realise then what Sebastian's intention was, he would hurt her enough to make her bleed, then he would let me finish the job.

Carlisle and Alice were suddenly at my side.

"I'll take her, Edward. Alice will help you deal with Sebastian."

Carlisle lifted Annabelle into his arms and sped away.

Alice and I went to where I'd left Sebastian, but he was gone.

Back home, I waited outside of Carlisle's study while he patched Annabelle up. I rested my forehead against the cool, exposed brick and closed my eyes. It was happening again. I'd saved her once, the next time she would die. Alice appeared behind me and rested a hand on my shoulder.

"Change her, Edward."

I shook my head.

"I can't, she doesn't want that, she never wanted that."

"She's Isabella, Edward, your Isabella. It's the only way you can be together forever."

"If it's too true, that Annabelle is Isabella reincarnated, then I won't take that gift away from her."

Alice sighed.

"It's not a gift, it's a burden. She'll keep coming back and each time she'll die. I've seen it."

Just then, the study door opened and Carlisle stepped out into the hall.

"You can go in now."

I stepped into the room, the smell of antiseptic still lingered in the air, barely covering the sweet smell of blood. Alice was hot on my heels, but I closed the door, leaving her outside In the hall.

"Edward." Annabelle's voice was so quiet, it was barely more than a whisper. She was lying on the sofa, a neat square of gauze taped to her head, covering the wound.

"Edward, I'm so sorry."

I rushed to the sofa and knelt down beside her.

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

Tears formed in her eyes, threatening to fall. Her dark blue eyes, so much like Isabella's, looked almost black in the dim light of the study.

"I knew he would never let me go. He'll keep going until he kills both of us."

"Sh. Don't think about that now. You're safe. We'll deal with Sebastian."

"No, Edward, this is my problem. I won't let you put yourself in danger."

I lifted her hand to my face, feeling the warmth of her skin against my cheek. I kissed the palm of her hand and then linked my fingers through hers.

"I'll take care of you, always."

The thunder cracks overhead again, I look into Bella's eyes. She's scared.

"I shouldn't have brought you here. I'm so sorry."

I turn to face the trio of vampires, shielding Bella from their view. James spots me, he says nothing but he fixes me with a stare, cocking his head to one side, studying me. Suddenly his lips twist into a mocking smile and something inside of me snaps. He remembers. I hear it in his thoughts. In his mind I see Annabelle's final moments, I watch her take her last breath. I grit my teeth and I clench my fists at my sides. He won't find out the connection, he can't know that Bella is Annabelle, another reincarnate. He'll hunt her to the ends of the earth. The breeze ruffles the trees around us and my chest tightens in horror as it lifts Bella's hair from her face, blowing her scent In James' direction. He raises his nose to the air and looks suddenly triumphant.

"You brought a snack."


	6. Chapter 6

When I leave Bella with Jasper and Alice, it's with a heavy heart. She'll be OK, she has to be OK. I look at her, trying to take in every detail, capturing the soft curve of her cheekbone, the delicate wave of her hair, the warm brown of her eyes. If something happens to her, I'll never forgive myself. I can't take it anymore. This eternal life of misery, losing my one, true love over and over again.

When I lost Annabelle, I thought my life was over. I refused to feed, I shunned my family, opting for a life of solitude, choosing to spend my endless life alone. There may have been another reincarnate born between Annabelle death and Bella's birth, but I never found her.

As Alice and Jasper speed away with Bella safely buckled up in the back of their car, I think of the night Annabelle died. We didn't get chance to get her out. Not even Alice saw them coming.

Annabelle and I had the house to ourselves, most of my family were out hunting and Carlisle was working a late shift at the nearby hospital. I was watching her sleep, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest, sweeping her long, auburn hair off her face. As I lightly traced the bruise on her head which she sustained when Sebastian tried to run her over, I vowed that I would never let anyone hurt her again. She looked so peaceful. I was so mesmerised by her beauty that it was some time before I heard the crackle of the fire. I opened the bedroom door to find the blaze already spreading up the stairs, the flames licking at the wrought iron spindles of the bannister, scorching the thick pile carpet. I hurried to the bed and picked Annabelle up, cradling her in my arms so we could make a quick escape. She stirred.

"Edward, what-"

"We have to get out."

I stepped towards the bedroom window and gasped as a figure crashed through the pane, sending a shower of glass over me and Annabelle. She screamed. I turned so that my shoulder took the brunt of it, the sharp shards barely scratching my hard body.

Another smash and another spray of glass, then two hulking vampires stood before me, blocking my only exit. Annabelle mentioned that the other vampires in Sebastian and James' coven were all brawn and no brains. They both wore leather jackets, their chests bare. One of them rushed towards me, kicking my legs out from underneath me. The other grabbed Annabelle and leapt through the broken window.

I ducked underneath the arm of the vampire standing in my way, he grabbed me by the back of my shirt and threw me against the wall opposite, I felt the plaster crack and I felt the heat of the fire downstairs, snaking its way towards us.

I slumped to the floor, but quickly recovered myself as the vampire threw his massive fist towards me. I tackled him around the middle, forcing him back towards the window. I kicked him in the stomach, sending him reeling. One more kick and he tumbled through the broken pane. I leapt out after him, landing on the soft, dewy grass outside. I was quickly surrounded by the two big vampires and another, smaller vampire - James. I scanned the grounds, but there was no sign of Annabelle.

James advanced, pacing around me like a lion stalking its prey. I could see him scanning me, searching for a sign of weakness, waiting for the right moment to attack. The other two vampires stayed back, but they kept casting glances at James, like they were waiting for his command.

"Where is she?"

My words were a low growl. James laughed.

"He has her. She belongs to him."

"She doesn't belong to anyone and she'll never belong to scum like your brother."

James sneered at me. He raised a hand, ready to strike. Just then I heard Emmett, his thoughts not quite as loud as his thundering steps as he raced through the woods towards our house. Jasper was on his heels. They burst into the clearing, pouncing on the two vampires who barely registered their presence until they were wrestled to the ground. Alice appeared behind them, she leapt to Jasper's aid, holding the head of the other vampire while Jasper snapped his neck. Emmett swung at his opponent, punching him in the face and snapping his head back.

I looked at James, his resolve was shaken. I rushed towards him, knocking him off his feet and slamming him into the ground. I punched him repeatedly in the face until he sunk into the soft, saturated ground. I heard a piercing scream.

"Annabelle!"

I tried to follow the direction of her yell and I searched for Sebastian's thoughts. I turned back to James, but he was already gone. I took off in the direction of the woods, sniffing at the air for a trace of her scent. As I hurried deeper into the forest, I caught the scent of something else, something sweet, something that caused a frenzy within me. Blood. I found them in the meadow. Her head was dipped towards her chest, her body limp. A rope snaked around her middle, tethering her to tree. Thin cuts trailed down her arms and her white vest was covered with blood. She was alive. I could hear the soft beat of her heart and the rattle of her breath. Sebastian stepped out from behind the tree. He grabbed her by the hair, pulling her head up. Her eyes were closed as he held the knife threateningly at her throat.

"Get away from her." I snarled.

Sebastian laughed, just liked James did. A cold, piercing laugh.

"She's beautiful isn't she?" He said.

He held his nose close to her cheek and inhaled her scent.

"She smells so good. Such a waste."

He let go of her hair and her head lolled on her chest. He held the knife out towards me and then he threw it at the ground. The point pierced the earth, the handle trembling with the force. Sebastian sped forwards, I dodged him easily and I kicked out. I caught him in the side and he crashed into a nearby tree. He jumped to his feet and then raced towards me head first. I didn't have time for this. I had to get to Annabelle. I held out my hands as Sebastian crashed into me and then I wrapped them around his neck before slamming him face down into the ground. He tried to raise his head, but I slammed him down again and again until he stopped moving. I turned towards Annabelle, but it was too late. James was there, one arm across her chest, almost pulling her from the ropes which bound her. His face was nuzzled into her neck and a thick stream of crimson poured over her collarbone. A sound escaped me, somewhere between a roar and a moan. My heart shattered into a thousand pieces and the pain ripped through me, reverberating around my body, refusing to end. I raced to the tree and James disappeared in a blur. I snapped the rope from around Annabelle's body and caught her in my arms just before she crumpled to the ground.

"Edward."

She struggled to open her eyes, I could feel her heart slow. I clamped my hand over the wound in her neck to stem the flow, trying not to breathe in the scent of her blood which rushed over my fingers. I traced the deep cuts Sebastian had made in the delicate skin of her arms, no doubt to lure me to him with her scent.

"Annabelle, wake up, please. Don't leave me."

Tears filled my eyes.

"Annabelle, don't leave me. Isabella. Not again."

There was only one thing left to try. I raised her wrist to my mouth and bit into the pale skin. Annabelle barely reacted, the only sign that she felt the sharp nip of my teeth was the furrow of her brow. I felt the weak trickle of her warm, sweet blood on my lips and I knew that it was too late. My venom wouldn't save her, her heart was too weak. I pulled her towards me, cradling her head against my chest.

"Edward," I could barely hear her voice over the rustle of the trees swaying in the wind, "Edward, I'm sorry. I…I...love you."

I sobbed into her shoulder.

"I love you too, Annabelle. Always."

She took one last rattling breath. Her heart fluttered and then stopped.


	7. Chapter 7

The rain starts to fall as we race through the forest. Esme and Rosalie wear Bella's jackets and they brush past the many trees and rocks so that Bella's scent will linger. Esme does it without complaint, but Rosalie grumbles continuously.

"I don't understand why we're leading him away, we could've used her to lure him and then we could've killed him."

I grit my teeth. I know it's just because she's worried for our family and more specifically, worried for Emmet but I keep my distance so I'm not tempted to round on her. After Annabelle died, the Volturi paid us a visit. The whispers about the activities of Sebastian's group had reached Volterra and they came to investigate. They witnessed much of the fighting, maintaining a safe distance so they could observe our skills. I was too consumed with grief to sense their presence, so overcome with anger to hear their thoughts. They watched me and my family rip Sebastian's coven limb from limb. Once Sebastian and his followers were dealt with, Emmett caught the scent of the ancient vampires hiding in the shadows of the trees and mistook them for more members of Sebastian's coven. He was overpowered by the Volturi guard and would've been killed if Carlisle hadn't intervened.

A sudden thought invades my mind. It's James. He's figured it out, he knows we've led him away. We return to Bella's house to check on her Father. I can hear his thoughts and I think how curious it is that they aren't shielded from me like Bella's. He is worried, he tried to contact Bella's Mother, but hasn't managed to reach her. He is thinking about chasing Bella to the airport, but he doesn't want to cause a scene. I will him to stay inside where it will be easier to watch him and I am satisfied when I hear him change his mind. My phone rings shrilly in my pocket. Alice.

"It's Bella, she's gone!"

"What do you mean gone?"

"She's gone to face James alone and….I can't see her future anymore."

I drop the phone and I take off towards the location Alice gives me. Bella's old dance school.

Images flash through my mind, Isabella, Mabel, Annabelle. Mabel knew that her killer would come for her. He followed her, he lingered in the woods outside of her house. My family and I tried to intervene, but he was untraceable, like he was shielding his mind from my senses. Instead of being afraid, Mabel wrote about it, hoping to turn it into a story. She revelled in the excitement, turning her emotions into words that she hoped would someday make her a famous author. Despite Mabel's objections, my family and I stationed ourselves around her house, hoping to catch her stalker, but nothing happened for weeks. One day, Mabel convinced us to return home. We needed to hunt, to regain our strength so we obeyed and that's when he pounced. I'll never know the true extent of what happened, but by the time I reached them, it was too late. In his haste to claim his prize, the predator's shield had started to slip and I'd managed to trace them to the woods. He was chasing her, excitement coursing through him. I saw her through his eyes, she looked afraid, but also curious, like a part of her wondered what would happen if she stopped running. He could outrun her of course, he was chasing her for sport. I found them in the clearing, he was leaning over her still body, his mouth at her neck. The leaves and broken branches crunched beneath my feet and the air was filled with the smell of sweet, metallic blood. He barely had time to react as I snapped his neck like the twigs underfoot. I picked Mabel up, cradling her carefully against my chest, my arms wrapped around her and my face buried into her shoulder. I carried her home and I laid her gently on her bed. I cleaned the blood from her skin and I arranged her hands carefully at her sides. She looked like she could've been sleeping. Her family were out and it broke my heart to leave her there for them to find, her death unexplained, but I couldn't leave her in the woods. I had failed her, I couldn't protect her from the inevitable. I promised myself then that I would never fall in love again.

I race to the dance hall, searching for a trace of James' thoughts. Suddenly, I felt his elation, I delve into his mind and I see her in his mind. Instead of fear, her face is stubborn, determined, but he can hear the thrum of her heart as it pounds in her chest. My family are close behind, but there's no time to wait. As I enter the hall I smell the blood and my head spins. It's intoxicating and nauseating, tinged with the fear of losing Bella.

I see him crouched over her and I slam into him, throwing him against the wall. A sudden thought crosses my mind. This is how Isabella died, this is how it all began. Her killer had lured her to the place where he first saw her, where he had made the decision to turn her, to make her his forever. The dance hall. It was a time when I didn't know what a Vampire was and I couldn't fathom out how this man, barely an inch taller than me, could be so much stronger. When I found them, they were on one of the balconies which overlooked the dancefloor and he had her in his clutches, his arms wrapped around her. He bit delicately into her shoulder, just above her collarbone as he whispered gently to her, telling her how they would be together for eternity. When he sensed me approaching, he released her and he attacked. As I feebly tried to fight him off, I saw Isabelle fall to her knees, her body shaking with the venom coursing through her body. I know now that she didn't have enough venom in her system to turn, but it would've taken just one more bite for her to be immortal. I watched as her eyes focused on me and they widened in horror as she realised that I was about to die. She scrambled to her feet and then shakily walked across to the balcony. She took one last look over her shoulder at me, her eyes filled with sorrow and then she whispered one last word to me: "Run." She pitched herself over the edge and landed on the floor below with a sickening thud.

Carlisle arrives just before I tear out James's throat. Together, me and my family rip him apart and we burn the pieces. This time he won't get away. I rush to Bella's side. A crest shaped bite mark blooms on her wrist and she screams out in pain as the venom surges into her bloodstream. I could let her turn. She could be immortal and we could be together forever. This could end the heartache, the constant cycle of finding her and losing her over and over again. Or will it? Maybe I'll lose her anyway and maybe as a vampire, she won't have the ability to reincarnate, to find me again. I deliberate, knowing my time is limited.

"Carlisle…..what's my other option?"


	8. Chapter 8

I stroke my hand over Bella's hair and stare at her in amazement. It worked. She's alive. Maybe the curse is broken?

"Not quite."

I turn around at the sound of the familiar voice, and my eyes widen when I see the figure standing in the doorway.

"It's not possible."

"And yet…here I am."

I step towards her, my hand outstretched. I brush my fingertips along her cheek, her skin, once dappled with freckles and sunlight, is now alabaster pale and her eyes are crimson.

"Isabella"

She holds my hand against her cheek and I am transported back to our days on the river.

"No!"

I step away from her, back towards the bed where Bella lies sleeping. I look from one to the other. "I don't understand."

"Reincarnation is a tricky thing," Isabella says, "Especially for vampires."

Her voice is cold steel, as though it lost its warm, musical quality in death.

"You see, when I died, I should never have came back, but the vampire who bit me had a very special gift – the power to bring back the dead. I didn't have enough venom in my system and the transformation halted when I jumped off the balcony, but he found me after and brought me back."

"But…we buried you."

"And he dug me up."

I look at Bella's face and I see her eyelid twitch. Something tells me that if she wakes up now, things will be bad. I turn back to Isabella.

"But then…why the reincarnates?"

"My creator can bring back the body, but not the soul. Mine moved on, I became Mabel, Annabelle and finally, Bella."

I shift my body in front of Bella, shielding her from Isabella. The vampire standing before me is not the girl I fell in love with, there is something cold and uncaring about her, and her red eyes are wilder than the eyes of any other vampire I've seen before.

"That hurts, Edward," She sticks out her bottom lip. "I'm still your Isabella."

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

"I have my own little vampire gift, Edward. I can take on the powers of other vampires. I just have to be near them. Right now I have your ability to read minds and you're wondering what threat I pose to your Bella."

"You won't get near her."

"Oh, I will, Edward, because I want back what she took from me, what the others before her took from me. I want my soul."

"You stay away from her."

"Don't you understand, Edward? I'm doing this for us, so we can be together again."

She glides towards me and wraps her arms around my waist. Her touch is as hard as stone, but something stirs within me.

"Think about it, Edward, my soul doesn't belong to her, it's trapped in the wrong body. I have to take it back."

"Why now?"

Isabella releases me with an exasperated sigh. "The others died before I had a chance to extract my soul. But something is different with this one."

Isabella slides around me and leans over Bella, their faces inches apart.

"She is very pretty, in a common, human kind of way."

Isabella presses her lips to Bella's. A growl starts low in my throat. I grab Isabella's arm and throw her against the wall, my hand closes around her neck, but she just laughs.

"Relax! What, did you think I was going to suck her soul out through her mouth?"

I let go of her and she dips her head from side to side, as a tiny fissure in her skin heals itself.

"The process is much more complicated than that. She has to die in a specific way."

"I'll never let that happen."

"You won't have a choice. You can't stop me, because you would never kill me. I can hear it in your thoughts."

"Maybe not, but we will."

I turn to find Alice standing in the doorway, Emmet, Carlisle and Esme behind her.

"I've seen it," Alice folds her arms across her chest. "Bella is under our protection, you'll die before she does."

Emmet cracks his knuckles threateningly, but Isabella just laughs. "I know what you have seen, Alice. I've seen it too, but the visions are subjective."

Alice looks confused.

"Isabella has the ability to use our gifts." I explain.

"That's right," Isabella says, "And I think I'll stay close. The ability to see the future and read minds, is going to come in very handy."

She pushes past Alice and stalks out of the room.

"Edward, we have to go after her," Alice says, "We have to stop her."

I grit my teeth. "I know, but not yet. We have to give her a chance to back down."

"She won't back down! She'll keep going until she gets what she wants."

"Edward's right," Esme says, laying a hand on Alice's shoulder, "We have to give her a chance."

"Carlisle?" Alice looks pleadingly at my Father, but his eyes are on me.

"Edward must be the one to choose."

I look at Bella, still lying peacefully in her hospital bed. I know that Isabella's soul is there, that I can't let her die, but I can't kill Isabella either, I won't. Watching her die was too hard before.

The rain starts to splatter against the window like wet sand, and the sky begins to darken. With a heavy heart, I realise that there's only one thing I can do to keep them both alive. It won't be easy, but it's the only way.

"I know what I have to do."

Thank you for reading A Neverlasting Love.

Coming soon: A Neverlasting Love: What Goes Around


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